Covers for beverage cans have been extensively described in the prior art both for preventing ingress of dust, insects etc. and for providing a surface suitable for promotional material or advertisements. However, none of the covers described in the prior art provide the simplicity of construction proposed by the present invention. For example:
U.S. Pat. No. 4,852,763 B (DIMBERIO DONALD J) 1 Aug. 1989 describes a protective cover for a beverage container, which cover is both removable and reusable. The cover is intended to prevent bees and other contaminating objects from entering the container after the container has been initially opened. The cover comprises a flexible, resilient disc having a notch formed therein, whereby the disc may be inserted to fit conveniently in the recessed area on the top of the beverage container and underneath the tab. The cover is rotated to align the notch with the opening in the container so that the liquid in the beverage container is accessible to the consumer. Similarly, the cover may be further rotated so that it covers the opening and thereby prevents the entry of foreign objects into the container
U.S. Pat. No. 5,887,742 B (LEWIS, JIMMIE) 30 Mar. 1999 describes a “guard” for preventing insects or bugs and debris from entering an opened beverage can. The “bug guard” is secured to the top lid of the can by bending the tab actuator upward, sliding the tab actuator through a retaining slot in the “bug guard”, and then bending the tab actuator downward.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,390,749 B (CONIC KOREA INC) 6 Sep. 2001 describes a cover mountable to a beverage container. The container cover is detachably mountable to an upper surface of a beverage container and comprises a body having a substantially a disc-shaped configuration. The body is partly cut away from an edge toward a centre thereof, thereby defining a beverage discharge opening. The beverage discharge opening is capable of selectively communicating with a discharging hole of the beverage container as the body is rotated. The body further has an advertisement surface such that an advertising design, letters, and so forth can be printed or an attachment can be affixed thereon.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,588,617 B (MAJCEN MARJAN ET. AL.) 8 Jul. 2003 (also published as WO 03/062084 A 31 Jul. 2003) describes a rotative closure for beverage containers, wherein a rotatable sealing plate sits atop the fixed top plate of a conventional beverage canister having a recess that corresponds with the recess of the fixed top plate in such a manner that when both recesses are aligned the user may pour out the contents contained therein. Rotating the sealing plate until the corresponding recesses are completely misaligned prevents the contents from escaping despite the orientation of the container. Furthermore, entry into the container is refused.
Finally, WO 2009/029247 A (SELIG SEALING PRODUCTS INC) 5 Mar. 2009 describes a covering substrate, which is inexpensive to manufacture and adhere to a container yet provides a hygienic environment at a top portion of the container as well as provides multiple promotional or advertising surfaces. The covering substrate is capable of being bonded to a rim of a container, the container including a top wall and the rim extending beyond the top wall defining a top portion of the container, the covering providing a hygienic environment at the top portion of the container, including a substrate, a heat seal coating laminated to the substrate and disposed for bonding the substrate to the container substantially along the perimeter of the rim, and a bondable material layered in part to the substrate opposite the heat seal coating, a portion of the bondable material defining a tab therein substantially contained within the perimeter of the substrate.